Fandom Traveler (Sherlock Holmes)

The Great Game (Part 2)

221B BAKER STREET.

Two gunshots ring out.

Vaness was sitting in the sofa, she was reading a book about Greek mythology. She was sitting on the side closer to the door, so Sherlock, who was shooting the wall, wouldn't miss and hit her.

Sherlock was lying slumped in his armchair, his head on the low back of the chair. His eyes close, then a few moments later he opens them and gazes up towards the ceiling.

Downstairs, the front door can be heard opening. Sherlock turns his head to look towards the sofa, looked at Vaness, then at her book. He sighs.

Above the sofa, a smiley face has been spray-painted on the wallpaper using a can of the yellow paint. The can is standing on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

As the downstairs door closes Sherlock sighs again, turns his head to the front again and then raises his left hand which is holding a pistol. He points the pistol towards the smiley face and - without even looking in that direction - fires two shots at it.

"You could look and make sure it's not aimed at me, you know." Vaness told him.

Sherlock turns his head to look at the face and fires a third shot which either misses the smile or was deliberately aimed to form a 'nose' for the face. As he fires a fourth time, John comes running up the stairs with his fingers in his ears. He stops on the landing, lowers his hands and yells at his flatmate.

"What the hell are you doing?" He shouted.

"Bored." Sherlock said sulking.

"What?" John said more quietly, squinting at him in disbelief.

"Bored!" Sherlock said loudly.

He springs up out of the chair. John immediately recoils and covers his ears with his hands.

"No ..." John protests.

Sherlock switches the pistol to his right hand and turns towards the smiley face, firing at it again. He then swings his arm around his back, twists slightly to his right and fires at the wall from behind his back.

Vaness was actually quite nervous but she was sure Sherlock could aim, how well? That she didn't know.

"Bored! Bored!" Sherlock said angrily.

"For Christ's sake! You could hit Vaness!"

"I won't miss." Sherlock said.

"Glad to know that you care more about not missing the shot than not shooting me." Vaness said jokingly, she was still reading her book.

As Sherlock brings his arm back around, John hurries into the room and Sherlock continues to glare at the smiley face but allows John to snatch the pistol from his hand. John quickly slides the clip out of the gun while Sherlock walks towards the sofa.

"Don't know what's got into the criminal classes. Good job I'm not one of them." Sherlock said still sulking.

John locks the pistol into a small safe on the dining table and then straightens up.

"So you take it out on the wall." John said.

"Ah, the wall had it coming." Sherlock said running his fingers along the painted smile.

He turns sideways and dramatically flops down onto the sofa on his back, his head landing on Vaness' legs and his feet digging into the arm of the sofa at the end nearest the windows.

Vaness grunted at his sudden weight, "You could've warned me."

"What about that Russian case?" John asked taking off his coat.